Les récits extraordinaires du baron constituent la reprise d'un imaginaire collectif amplifié par le merveilleux et la truculence d'un militaire nostalgique d'exploits, à la manière de Tartarin de Tarascon. Fanfaronnades, hâbleries, bravades, forfanteries et vantardises, voici pêle-mêle quelques noms qui viennent à l'esprit pour décrire de prime abord les fabuleuses Aventures et mésaventures du baron de Münchhausen. Ces nouvelles pérégrinations du baron, épiques et rocambolesques, adaptées par Gottfried August Burger, s'inscrivent parfaitement dans la longue tradition littéraire du personnage.
The Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, or the Startling adventures of Baron Munchausen, is one of the funniest texts ever written. It relates the exploits of a grandiloquent figure, in a series of absurd, impossible and extravagant feats. It is a charming tale of dreamlike adventures, a powerful satire and a personal attack, as it was meant to mock a real Baron known for telling outrageous tall tales based on his military career during the Russo-Turkish war. The adventures of the Baron will have you roar with laughter and unleash your imagination as you witness his cannonball ride or travels to the moon. This beloved text has spawned numerous adaptations, such as movies and plays ; medical syndromes have even been named after this character.
